Data privacy concerns raised over Wowowin’s selfie competition

Wowowin, a variety TV show on GMA Network, has a new competition where it asks aspiring contestants to share their selfies and personal information online in a chance to win prizes.

The mechanics have raised data privacy concerns from online users. The game, called Mukang Panalo, asks contestants to share their most handsome, beautiful, or most entertaining selfies on the comment section in a post on the show’s Facebook page.

Apart from selfies, they are also asked to share their name, address, and contact number. As of writing, the game already gained 251,000 comments. As per the show host and producer Willie Revillame, this will make it easier for contestants to win money.

The comment section will be on scrolling mode as it’s displayed on everyone’s TV screens to draw winners. The host will then stop at the lucky entry that stands out to him.

The number of entries isn’t surprising since the easy mechanics can win you Php10,000 cash.

While the intention seems genuine, a couple of Reddit users raised concerns about the potential data privacy issues it may entail since the comment section is posted publicly and is even broadcasted in live TV.

Data Privacy must be part of basic ed curriculum from Philippines

One user expressed that it’s a “goldmine of info” that can be used in the upcoming election. Another user also said that the shared images could be used by troll/dummy accounts.

These concerns are timely as the National Privacy Commission announced weeks ago that they are investigating the over 800,000 breached Facebook accounts in the Philippines.

The affected accounts had their names, addresses, and other relevant information scraped. This information is being posted on hacker forums.

Via: Interaksyon